Tennessee Army Guard Assists Motorists in West Tennessee

Nashville, TN – Soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 168th Military Police Battalion and the Volunteer Training Site-Milan have been mobilized to assist motorists in the Dyer County area of West Tennessee.

The National Guard Teams, equipped with water, food and blankets, will conduct welfare checks on motorists to make sure there are no health emergencies.The latest winter storm gripping the nation has stranded several thousand people on both I-55 and I-40 along with several highways in Tennessee that feed the interstate system.

Guard units from Dyersburg and Ripley were alerted today and placed on standby to assist the Dyer County Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Highway Patrol if needed.

Equipment including High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle’s (HMMWV) are pre-staged at armories throughout the western border of the state to respond. Both the State Emergency Operations Center and the Tennessee National Guard Emergency Operations Center were activated earlier today and armories in the impacted region have been placed on standby in the event emergency shelter is needed.

“The National Guard has a two-fold mission,” said Maj. Gen. Max Haston, Tennessee’s Adjutant General. “Our federal mission is to provide the President and the Secretary of Defense with units capable of performing during wartime, but today we’re acting in our state mission, providing the Governor with a ready response force in accordance with the Tennessee Emergency Response Plan.”